Dalit woman, son humiliated on panchyat`s diktat

Bulandshahr: On a panchyat`s diktat, a dalit woman and her son were allegedly made to sit on a buffalo with their faces blackened and were paraded around a village here for "helping" a woman to elope, police said on Friday.

The panchayat of Jaat-dominated Shujapur village in Shikarpur police station, had blamed Chandrawati (50) and her 18-year-old son Devendra after a married woman eloped with a man from the same village, Senior Superintendent of Police Amitabh Yash said.
It ordered the villagers to parade the duo after blackening their face last evening, the SSP said. A 25-year-old married woman, Shama, who was from the Jat community, had eloped sometime back. However, after a few days she came back and told the villagers that Chandrawati had helped her.
Following the allegations, the village panchayat summoned Chandarwati and Devendra.
The SSP said 23 people have been named in the case and seven of them, including Shama, had been arrested.